


Waterloo| Bane one shot

by Clairecrive



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman (Movies - Nolan), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Dorkiness, F/M, Fights, Mamma Mia! References, Musicals, My First Smut, Rough Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:35:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23985436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clairecrive/pseuds/Clairecrive
Summary: From two requests on Tumblr: on St Patrick Day, Bane, who's still alive, is wounded and seeks shelter. He sneaks into a house, Donna's. And another request asked for a 5 year from Gotham. So let's explore Donna and Bane's relationship, shall we?
Relationships: Bane (DCU) & Original Female Character
Kudos: 8





	Waterloo| Bane one shot

Moving in had proven to be a harder task than Donna first thought but at the same time it turned out to be a pleasant one too. Unpacking her stuff meant that she got to find things she had considered long lost. Her life had not been always easy but Donna soon discovered that with time only the good moments were forever stuck in her memory. Her cherished musicals collection gave her a bittersweet feeling, proud of having so many but as it had always been, they also made her think of her mother. That lovely woman who she had got to know only through her grandparents’ stories. Donna had always felt close to her mother while watching musicals, especially those that her grannie told her were her mother’s favourites. Finding her precious fuchsia pin though was a whole different experience. She had loved that thing, she remembered how she used to wear it all the time. She could recall especially one particular night when she had been wearing that. 

When Donna was a teenager, she had started dyeing her hair. The colour changed from time to time and when she met Bane, she had been settled on pink hair for a while. According to the hair colour, Donna arranged her wardrobe, makeup and accessories. So, she used a sparkly glittery fuchsia clip to hold her baby hair back during that time. The way they met wasn’t a conventional one and neither was the first night they spent together. She reckoned she had been startled and confused, maybe even a little scared. However, now that her mind brought her back to that moment, she couldn’t help but smile fondly at the memory as it played through her mind.

_ 17 March, St Patrick day. Even if Donna had Irish blood in her veins, she couldn’t help but feel indifferent at the festivity. If it hadn’t been for a colleague that had mentioned it to her, she wouldn’t have even remembered it. She had always cherished her Irish heritage knowing how important it had been for her grandparents. Donna was aware that she owed everything to those lovely people and that’s why she had always taken part in the festivities regarding this very day when she was at home. However, since their death and her departure from Ireland, she couldn’t connect to that part of herself anymore. She found it very painful to do so and so locked it stayed, barely acknowledged.  _

_ There was something that she used to do with her grandparents on this day that she still did though, a sort of ritual. She didn’t know why but St Patrick day had always been taken by her grannie as a way to celebrate her mother. So, every year they would watch one, or a few, of her favourite films. That’s why Donna had grown up to love musicals, it was inevitable really. Even if she couldn’t seem to be able to cherish her Irish heritage anymore, she couldn’t renounce of that tradition. And so that’s where she was that night when unbeknown to her, her whole life changed, on her bed singing along to “Mamma Mia”’s songs. At first, she had been too into her karaoke session to notice what was happening behind her. From her bedroom window, Bane was crawling in, trying not to damage his body more than it already was. He didn’t know how or why but Catwoman’s blow didn't kill him. It only left him to wake up in a lot of pain, even more than he was used to bear, and with numerous wounds that needed to be taken care of. The sight before him was rather… unusual. He had expected to be met with screams of fear, tears or a shocked expression even. Instead, Bane was met with the sight of Donna performing along with the actors on the screen. She was absolutely off-key but Bane was amused anyway. When he sat down on her window seat, groaning from the pain and holding his side, that was when Donna spun around startled by the noise he made and froze on the spot. She didn’t indulge in gossip but his face was one that everyone in Gotham knew. After the failed revolution it was almost impossible not to know him. Donna couldn’t help but feel scared at the sight of his masked face. Her mind instantly linked him with the uproar and the danger he put the city in. Not that Donna loved Gotham but she certainly cared for her life. Forcing her mind to work and not give up on her, she took him in. The side he was holding in his hand was bleeding and the mask, his distinctive trait, was damaged. _

_ “Never thought of getting into Hollywood? I’m sure you’d make it.” His voice sounded strange. Strained, muffled. Probably because of the pain he was in and the mask on his mouth. _

_ “What are you doing here?” She found herself asking, completely disregarding his words. _

_ “As you can see I’m in need of a little help.” Bane simply said, silently asking her to clean his wounds. _

_ “I’m not a doctor nor a nurse.”  _

_ “I’ll just need a first aid kit and somewhere to stay.” He resolutely told her and Donna couldn’t do much other than supplying him with what he had asked. _

_ Sitting on her bed, she observed him cleaning and bandaging his own wounds in fascination. Donna could barely clean a scratch on her knees without flinching and here it was, an almost fatally wounded man in front of her that was taking care of himself without batting an eye. Bane could feel her eyes on him but continued to act none the wiser. This little woman was taking it well, better than he first expected. He figured that staring at him wasn’t a big of a deal. He was used to being at the centre of attention anyway.  _

_ Much to his surprise, when he wrapped the last bandage on his body, she got up and gathered everything he had used to clean after him. Before leaving the room, she almost imperceptibly pointed with her head to the bed she previously had been sitting on. Bane didn’t wait for her to ask twice, so that’s where Donna found him when she returned to the room. He heard her soft steps on the carpet but didn’t open his eyes to acknowledge her. However, his eyes snapped open when he felt the bed dip beside him. Donna was standing on her knees at his side, holding up something in her hands that he later identified as ducktape. Ever so timidly, she pointed to his mask and he understood that she was asking him permission to touch it. _

_ “It probably won’t do much but your mask is broken. I can put the pieces together. Until you find a permanent solution.” Donna had never spoken so softly before and didn’t even know why she was almost whispering now. Like she was talking with a wild beast, afraid that if she spoke too loud she would startle her and made her attack her. _

_ His mask was off-limits, everyone knew. However, Bane felt himself nodding before he could register what he was doing. This little lady was certainly… one of a kind. Not only she hadn’t screamed or tried to hurt him but was also trying to help him. Was she too kind or just insane? Bane couldn’t know, having only met her, but her hands on his face were gentle and unthreatening, he decided. Her touch then left his face and after a few seconds, he heard her leave the bed only to return right away with her laptop. She laid next to him, Bane didn’t know whether it was for keeping an eye on him or checking in on him, put her headphones in and pressed play.  _

_ Trying not to let her know, he glanced at the screen but wasn’t able to recognize the film she was watching. He knew it was a musical though, seeing as there were people dancing and singing. He closed his eyes again, trying to relax and didn’t open them even when he heard her whispers. It seemed that she wasn’t doing a good job at preventing herself from singing along, not that Bane minded. Even if his eyes were closed, his ears were always listening in to see if there was any danger approaching. He knew that there were men looking for him and in the state he was in, he couldn’t put up much of a fight. And the lady… well, he didn’t really think her capable of fighting against mercenaries, nevermind the police. The only thing that he could hear were the words that would leave her mouth from time to time. Until he heard it. The lock of her main door squeaked. Someone was trying to break in, he concluded opening his eyes. _

_ Tapping on her shoulder, he got her attention. Turning to him, she removed one headphone and looked questioningly at him. _

_ “Someone’s is trying to break in.” He said calmly trying to not make her panic. To his surprise she didn’t, she only nodded and got out of bed. She walked in her bathroom, opened her shower and put on some music. Walking back into her room, she strolled over the side of her bed where he was resting and helped him get off. _

_ Trying to support as much of his weight as she could, Donna let him wrap one of his big arms around her shoulders and together they slowly limped towards the bathroom. The small walk tired them both, Bane was still weak from the blow and the blood loss while Donna was simply not used to lift something, or in this case, someone, that heavy. She gently helped him so that he was sitting on the edge of her bathtub that could also be used as a shower and turned around to lock the door. When she faced him again, she was met with an inquisitory stare. Bane wasn’t in the state to physically stop her, so he had followed her in the bathroom, but was still able to understand that her plan, if she even had one, simply was going to fail.  _

_ “They are looking for you. When they don’t find you here and see that I’m in the shower, they’re just going to go away.” She hoped so at least. Getting into the tub first, she gently turned him around, lifting his legs one at a time so that he was still sitting but was now in the tub. This time, she took both of his arms and wrapped them around her neck, while hers went around his waist. With her feet firmly planted on the ground of the tub, she crunched a little, to give herself a little push to make him stand up. She knew that she couldn’t possibly hold him like this for more than 5 seconds, so she swiftly pivoted. Holding him up with the help of the wall, they were standing close, too close. Their skin touching but their faces apart given the height difference. Donna tried not to think too much about it. They were just doing what was necessary to escape death after all. It didn’t mean anything. Her skin wasn’t reacting funny at his touch. It was for the strain she was putting her muscles through. His breath hadn’t stopped because she was close to him. It’s just that he was in pain. Then, in hope to make her plan work, she started to sing along to the song that was playing. _

_ However, much to Donna’s dread and Bane’s not-at-all surprise, the men didn’t stop at the empty house or at the implication of the water running and loud music playing. When it came to Bane, they weren’t taking any chances. Only standing at his corpse, they would stop. Bane was perfectly aware of their way of thinking because it was also his and a shiver run through his spine at the thought of what was going to happen. No matter how many times he had defeated death, he wasn’t immortal and it seemed that his time had come much sooner than he would have liked. He had never been afraid of death. He had even embraced it, planned for it when he took Gotham. His only regret was that it had to be this way, at the hand of worthless men rather than for a noble cause. _

_ When he heard the door lock creak yet again, his eyes involuntarily moved to the petit body of his unlikely rescuer. He wouldn’t go as far as to say that he cared about her, because then he would be lying. And Bane was above lies. He had never been ungrateful though and was perfectly aware that if it hadn’t been for her, he probably would have died on that filthy road. He didn’t care for her but was mildly sad that she would die in this way. She seemed like a nice person. He knew she was kind and that was a rare thing in this wretched world. She was also full of surprises, he would come to find out. As a matter of fact, when he glanced down at her, the fire and resolution in her eyes startled him. Bane couldn’t possibly know but in her mind, all the different scenarios of what could happen in the next minutes were playing and she was doing her best to try and figure out a way where both of them would come out alive. She would be damned if she’d let those men hurt her, let alone kill her. Completely unaware of Bane’s eyes on her, she slightly nodded to herself when she decided the plan of action. _

_ “Stay here and don’t move,” she told him firmly before hopping out of the tub. Quickly drying her legs, she hid behind the door. Even if they blasted it, and she knew that they would, there was still enough space for her to hide and wait for the right moment to strike. It was in moments like these that she was thankful for her stature. She would push the door right back in their faces, startling them and if she was lucky even sending them back on their asses, as soon as they would open the door.  _

_ Her previous plan hadn’t worked but fortunately, this one did. As she predicted, the blow of the door in their faces did startle the intruders but it wasn’t strong enough to make them fall down. Opening the door again, she took advantage of the startled man. Grabbing the hand that was holding a gun, she pulled it to her and closed the door on him at the same time. This time the blow was strong enough to have at least dislocated his wrist and to make him lose the grip on the gun. With her hand still wrapped around the man’s wrist, Donna let the gun drop to the floor and slammed the door on his head again. When she loosened her grip she was met with the comforting noise of his body falling on the floor. Donna wasn’t sure if they had realised what was going on or if they thought it was Bane attacking them. Anyway, she needed to use everything she had to her advantage. Now that the element of surprise was gone she had to think quick on her feet. However, the door shook again preventing her to formulate any kind of plan.  _

_ She didn’t know how many men there were outside but when the door busted open again she couldn’t do much except for fighting. Hiding the gun she already had in the waistband of her pants, she braced herself just in time. She could only see other two men beside the one that was still k.o. on the floor. The one that entered first, pointed a gun at her head but before he could fire, Donna thrusted his arm to the ceiling, the shot wasted in the air while she swiftly jabbed him in the guts and in the neck with her elbow. When the man bent in two, she graciously let her knee and his nose get acquainted. Blood sprayed everywhere and even if she didn’t hear it crack because of the music, she knew she had broken his nose. When she spotted at the corner of her eyes that the other man was ready to shoot her, she let her instincts take over her. Pushing the wounded bleeding man to the door knocking him out, she pivoted on herself doing a 360-degree angle with her leg and kicked him in the face. Donna didn’t know what had possessed her to make her act like this, she didn’t even know she could be that flexible. It had been ages since her last martial arts class. She still got it apparently, she mused while she looked as the last man fell down with satisfaction.  _

_ Too busy catching her breath and disarming the men while making sure that they stayed out cold, she didn’t notice that the shower had been shut down and that Bane was standing behind her, leaning against the door frame. _

_ “You knocked out three of my men.” He observed.  _ Was that admiration in his voice? Or maybe astonishment? _ Donna couldn’t tell. _

_ “Well, why the hell were they trying to kill me?” She didn’t feel accusation in his voice but felt the need to defend herself all the same. _

_ “I believe they were trying to rescue me and thought of you as a threat.”  _

_ “A threat? Have you seen me?” she scoffed, “ you should recruit less stupid men.” She concluded while walking to him to help him back to the bed. _

_ “You did manage to knock three fully trained mercenaries out cold.” Bane pointed out as a matter of fact and this time Donna could spot the amazement in his voice.  _

_ “Didn’t I tell you about my taekwondo skills?” she acted none the wiser and laid back next to him. Bane snorted in amusement even though Donna didn’t hear. His mask emitted a constant low hiss, muffling a lot of his sounds. _

__

_ “Why didn’t you fight me then?” He had been wondering since she started fighting the men. He didn’t think it possible but this little lady kept surprising him.  _

_ “My grandfather always used to say: know when to back off Donna, don’t be like Napoleon at Waterloo.” She explained with a soft smile recalling all the times her beloved grandparent would tell her those exact words. He had been a history teacher and was especially interested in the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte.  _

_ “You were Waterloo, even in your state.” she pointed out. Fighting those men had been all about survival. They were trying to take her out so she acted before they could return the favour. With Bane, it had been different. He was hurt and needed help. As long as she provided for him, she knew she didn’t have anything to fear from him. And also that he could strangle her with minimum strength and bare hands.  _

That night had surprised both her and Bane. She still couldn’t believe what she did. She had been trained to fight but never in that kind of situation. Where both her life and his were at stake. Sure, after that her muscles had been sore for days but it was the least that could happen. She had even feared to have strained something at one point. Fortunately, it was just that she was out of practice. However, she could still feel the pride she felt whenever Bane looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. It was a really nice first impression, probably her best one. Lost in her memories, she didn’t hear the man of the hour walking behind her. 

“Are you having trouble unpacking?” Bane asked her when he noticed her standing still in front of an open box.

“Oh no, I’ve just found something that brought me back,” Donna explained glancing at him over her shoulder, holding the clip up so that he could see. Not that she thought he would remember it or anything. And yet, little did Donna know, that Bane recognized the hair accessory indeed. Only that it brought him back to a completely different time. A sadder memory. A moment in their relationship of which he wasn’t really proud. One that if he could go back, would prevent from happening. But one that Bane knew, looking back to it after five years, helped them made the little jump they needed to bring their relationship to the next level.

  
  


_ Both Bane and Donna had never been fans of labels. Especially when it came to them, they much preferred living in the moment rather than risking ruining what they had by putting it in a box. Despite everything, it was safe to say that they had grown close. Very close. So close that they were now able to enjoy the comfort that only intimacy between two people that shared a bond could bring. As a matter of fact, after sex, they laid together in bed, both of them on their sides so that they were facing each other. One of Bane’s arms was under Donna head acting as a pillow, while the other rested on her back, slowly stroking the skin there. Donna was pretty much draped over him, one of her legs was over his waist and her arms held him in a loose embrace. It had always amazed her how smooth his skin was and after touching him for the first time she was also surprised to learn that his skin was soft and warm too. Always full of surprises this man. So they just were there, in each other arms, contently caressing the other. Skin to skin. Neither of their touches was sensual or provocative. Not at first. They were past round 1 and were just basking into the intimacy of the afterglow. But then Bane’s hand moved slowly from her back, where it was resting, to the curve of her ass cheek. Slowly but firmly he gripped her leg that was draped over his wait to secure it there and also move it a little higher so that their cores were now touching. He didn’t enter her yet, not even stroking, he just moved so that they were touching down there too. Donna gasped at the contact she didn’t expect but smiled a little when she felt him getting hard again. This man’s sexual appetite was endless. She didn’t move, allowing him to touch her and enjoying it at the same time. Bane took this as an invitation to proceed and so he did. He swiftly turned her on her back, his arms taking the most of his weight, otherwise, he would have crushed her, and her legs were now around him. Her hands didn’t stop touching him, they only moved to his neck. Donna would never tell him but his neck and his shoulders, so thick and strong, had always aroused her. And since his mouth wasn’t available to her, they took its place when it came to showing him affection and desire. _

_ On Bane’s part though, he had always liked the striking difference in size between them. She was a tiny little thing, not even over 1.60, so infinitely little compared to him who was a bulky mountain of a man. It was no secret that Bane loved power and being in control, Donna had even compared him once to a certain Monica Geller - not that he knew who she was- and the fact that she was so small and that he could so easily manoeuvre her and do anything he wanted, was a huge turn-on for him. Little did he know that it was something that aroused Donna as well. _

_ One of his hand, moved from its position beside her head to instead trace her face. He had the habit of gently feeling her lips with his fingers and Donna had always wondered what it meant for him. If it was maybe a way for him to feel them since he couldn’t with his mouth, a kiss of sorts. In any case, she liked it and the way he carefully moved his fingers and his eyes lit up, would always make Donna curse in her mind at the fact that she couldn’t kiss him. His fingers then moved over her neck. They had been intimate for a while now and she had come to learn that he was as dominant in bed as he was in life and that one of his kinks was choking. Not used to it at first, Donna was, of course, startled and even a bit scared by the threat of his large hand on her throat. But for some unknown reason, she trusted him not to hurt her. And up until now, he didn’t give her a reason for her not to. However, his fingers didn’t wrap themselves around her neck as she expected but instead continued moving to her chest, where he felt her collarbone. _

_ “Look at you, so small and yet so willing to take me.” _

_ “Not going to lie, the first time I saw you I thought you were going to break me,” she confessed  _

_ “Oh, I could. I very well could break you, so easily. You never resisted me though.” _

_ “I trust you. I know you won’t.” Taking her words in, Bane didn’t know what surprised him more, the fact that she genuinely believed that or that she trusted him. He didn’t stop to consider it though, he knew for certain what those words made him feel and that was what he was going to focus on.  _

_ Startling her yet again, both of his hands grabbed her bottom while he made her open up her legs more by leaning over her body. Adjusting her position so that they were perfectly aligned, he only needed to move his hips a little further and then they would be one. And when he did, both of them moaned for the sensation. Despite the fact that they had been doing this for a while, Donna had yet to get completely adjusted to his length. A part of her thought that she never would but fortunately, it wasn’t unbearable. Bane was very aware that their difference in size also meant that she’d take him with difficulty. And even if she had always been willing and never complained, he had always minded the first thrusts. Not too rough or fast. Just a few slow movements to let her walls accommodate him. But when her breath would quicken and her legs’ grip would tighten around him, he knew it was time. Time to finally ravish her. Bane wasn’t a gentle man, and neither was his approach to sex. His hands were strong and would leave marks where they would grip Donna’s skin. His thrusts became more vigorous and deeper, his pube hitting her sensitive bundle of nerves, his legs slapping against her making her move a little on the bed. She knew him though, knew what he liked, so she braced herself and locked her arms around him as well, staying in place this way. Not that his grip on her ass would let her go anywhere. _

_ The rhythm of Bane’s thrusts was always an increasing one: he would start slow to allow her to get used to his length and then, as her moans would be louder and her hands gripped his shoulders harder, he would quicken until the room was filled with the sound of their pelvis slapping and Donna’s broken breath. Bane was delighted to find out that a little thing like Donna was able to take him, even when it seemed that his mission was to break her in two. Donna, on the other hand, wasn’t so shocked to find out that Bane is very vocal in bed. Not in the sense of dirty talking, sometimes he would do that too, but more in the way of asserting his dominance and her submission. _

_ With his head on her neck, where his mask was gracing her skin, he bashed in the sensation of her tight walls around him. Adjusting his position so that he was leaning on her resting his weight on his hands beside her head. That only lasted for a while though, the urge to wrap his hand around her slim neck was too strong. _

_ “ Such a tiny doll, so tight,” he panted in her ear continuing to mercilessly snap his hips on hers, “and yet taking me so well.” _

_ “I wonder if it wasn’t made especially for me.” Applying more pressure on her neck, he stopped his movement with a strong thrust, opting for going deep rather than fast. “No matter because it’s mine.” The possessiveness was loud and clear in his voice but the growl he made while he slowly entered her again left no doubt.  _

_ “Am I right, Donna?” His answer was more of a rhetorical one but Donna knew that he liked to hear her answer nevertheless. And she did open her mouth to answer him. She couldn’t though, only a loud gasp left her lips. He set up a pace that he knew was torturing her and making her unable to make any rational thinking. He would slowly pull away, to the point where only his tip was in, be like this for a moment before going in again with a powerful snap of the hips arriving as deep inside her as he could. _

_ He needed to know, needed for her to talk back, needed the reassurance that she was his and only his. _

_ Moving his hand to press his thumb on her clit, he called for her attention again. _

_ “Answer me.” And with that, his thrusts regained speed adding to his fingers stroking her where she was most sensitive, it brought her over the edge.  _

_ “Oh my god, Bane!” Donna was in pure ecstasy. Her legs were shaking but didn’t lose their grip on him, while her fingers had painfully gripped his shoulder blades. She was a mess, heart beating so fast that was ready to leave her body and her breath so quick that it seemed she had been running the marathon. Donna knew though that Bane wasn’t finished and that since she hadn’t answered him, she was in for a delicious punishment. That’s what she thought. _

_ Growling at her like an angry fiend, Bane pulled out of her only to hastily turn her on her stomach and re-entering her from behind. Holding her still by wrapping a hand in her hair, he resumed thrusting only this time even more vigorously. Still coming down from her high, Donna was still sensitive and while normally she was able to take Bane’s strength with no fuss, now it was bordering pain.  _

_ His hand, resumed its position on her neck gripping hard and pulling her toward him, while hers snapped behind her on his chest to try and tell him silently to slow down. Bane though didn’t seem to notice. He was too far into his mind, set off by her silence, he was soon reminiscing all the time he would catch her laughing or mingling around with men of his army. He had never thought much about it, sure of where her loyalty stood. Now though he wasn’t so sure anymore. _

_ As the thought registered in his mind, he gripped way harder on her neck while increasing his tempo, not aware of how his actions were putting Donna off, until he was snapped out of it by her screams. _

_ “Bane! Bane, stop!” she pleaded, “I don’t want this anymore,” she repeated more vigorously when he didn’t even slow down. The way he gripped her neck, almost choking her, and the way he was mercilessly pounding into her like he was stabbing her in a way, was all too much for her. Donna didn’t know what had set him off but she needed him to stop. She enjoyed it rough but this was just violence. She tried to push him away with her hand when he ignored her and as he got suddenly pulled back to earth, he released her immediately when he registered and her cries for him to get away from her. She fell back on the bed and immediately turned around to face him, holding her knees to her chest so that not even an inch of her skin was touching his. Donna looked at him like he had wounded her, the betray in her eyes painfully evident for him. And for the first time in his life, Bane didn’t know what to say. He realised that he got carried away, lost himself in his emotions and let them control his body. That alone would have been outrageous for him but the fact that she had witnessed this moment of weakness and had even suffered from it, made it even harder for Bane to comprehend his actions. What had gotten over him? _

_ Donna was busy in a train of thought of her own but unbeknown to her, she was posing herself the same question. What had gotten over him? Okay, that he was usually rough in bed, but this was a different thing. It felt like he really wanted to hurt her, like he wanted to punish her for some reason. That wasn’t rough, it was hate fucking. And Donna didn’t know what to do with that realisation. Locked in his bathroom probably wasn’t the best way to deal with this. But what should she do? What could she do? What could have happened to make Bane despise her so? Did something happen or it was just that he got tired of her and wanted to push her away? Did she think that Bane was capable of doing something like that? To be fair, Donna couldn’t say to really know Bane. But she did spend a lot of time with him and she had always thought him to be articulate and upfront. He didn’t seem the type of man to restore to such low acts instead of facing the problem. But what could she know? At the end of the day, you really can’t say to know your partner. Above all, Bane. _

_ They weren’t even partners, Donna sourly considered. What they had was… something for sure but they never stopped and put a label on it. Yes, they were lovers in the sense that they had sex. Very frequently. But was it just that? Were they at least friends? Did he even care about her or was it just physical? Donna had never cared much for labels. As long as there were mutual trust and respect, she didn’t have any problems. But now that those requirements were abruptly missing, she started to question their relationship. If she could even call what they had that way.  _

_ She should talk to him. Yes, that was the best thing to do, she concluded. Maybe it was going to be painful and uncomfortable but she had to do it. It was time to cross some T’s and dot some I’s. Once she returned to the bedroom, she discovered that Bane had left just as she did. Disappointment washed over her. She had expected him to be waiting for her to explain. Apparently not. However, shaking her head, she didn’t let this sway her. She needed to talk to him and she would. Even if she had to wait for him. Sure, she could go and look for him but maybe it was best that she waited for him to cool off. An angry Bane wasn’t one to mess with. Not that Donna was scared of him. She had never been scared of him before, certain that he would never hurt her. Now, however, she wasn’t so sure anymore. And despite her best efforts, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Maybe it was wrong of her to trust a mercenary this much but she had always been a firm believer in duality. In the sense that she knew that people were complex beings and one couldn’t just put them in a box and expect them to fit in there. One could be more than one thing. And Bane was more than just a mercenary. Now though, she was beginning to question this very fact. Perhaps she had been wrong. Too naive for trusting him so. _

_ Little did she know though, that she had been right all along. Bane was more than just a mercenary. As a matter of fact, he was troubled by what happened. A man who was just a mercenary wouldn’t have been. He knew that Donna probably expected some sort of explanation from him, if not even an apology. He also knew that he owed her that, but he was also aware of the fact that he needed to sort himself out first. How could he explain to her what happened when he was the first one that hadn’t a clue? _

_ Both of them had spent the rest of the day trying to put their thoughts in order. Clueless to the fact that the only way they could really sort themselves and the situation was by talking to the other. And that, unfortunately, didn’t happen. Bane didn’t return to their shared bedroom, choosing to keep himself busy with work instead, and Donna couldn’t find the strength to seek him out. If only she did, she would have put them both out of their misery. She would have spared herself from making a desperate and rushed decision: to pack her bags and leave.  _

_ When Bane didn’t come back, she took his action as a way to dismiss her. As a confirmation of her thoughts: he had grown tired of her and had given her a reason to go. He was pushing her away and even if she hated that they couldn't even talk about it before she left, she wasn’t going to impose her presence where she wasn’t wanted. And so, as it began so it ended: with one of them leaving the scene abruptly. _

_ Needless to say, Donna had misunderstood the whole situation. But she couldn’t know what was going on inside Bane’s mind. She could only wonder. And her mind brought her to the wrong conclusion. But she wouldn’t know that she did for a long while. When Bane finally returned to their bedroom, expecting to find her there, he was upset, to say the least when he realised that she was gone. With just a note to notify him. _

“ _ Breaking up is never easy I know but I have to go. Here is where the story ends _

_ this is goodbye. Knowing you it's the best I can do.” _

_ That’s what the note said. In perfect Donna’s style, she had broken up with him through a musical song. That notion had made him smile. Since she had forced him to watch the movie with her, he recognized the lyrics and at what point in the movie it came up. And so, as easily as always, he was able to go through her whole thought process and cursed himself when he realised what must have gone through her mind to make her leave. If he had gone back to the room earlier, he would have been able to stop her from jumping to a rushed and wrong conclusion. But he hadn’t and now she was gone.  _

_ Bane never really cared to understand what they were. He knew they were fine with each other, he knew Donna trusted him and since that night in Gotham, he had learned to trust her too. He wasn’t an emotional man. He had been trained to use his mind and to only rely on his logic and instincts when it came to making decisions. But now he was left at a crossroad. There was no one to tell him what to do anymore, he was the boss of himself. And while that had been debilitating at first, since he had been used to follow orders all his life, he had quickly learned to appreciate the power that came with getting to make the call. It was in times like these, however, that he found himself missing that part of his old life. When he didn’t need to think at stuff like this, when he was nothing more than a soldier he had orders and he had to follow them. No questions asked.  _

_ But he was not just a soldier anymore. He was a man. He was a person. Donna had helped him discover that through their time together. It had always amazed him how she was able to see through his mask and get through to him. She got to his core. She had managed to know him, to understand him. He had despised her ability at first, he hated that he was such an open book to her. He believed that to be a weakness of his. How foolish of him to think so. After the first few weeks since she left, he had come to find that he missed the closure, the intimacy. He missed her. To acknowledge that, to even admit his feelings to himself, had been a journey of itself. It had taken him a while. Almost a month to be precise. A part of him had feared that it was too late to go back to her. Maybe she had already moved on and forgot all about him. And while that possibility broke his heart, not that he would admit it, he knew that if he didn’t at least try, he would regret it.  _

_ So he did. He looked for her and when he acquired her exact position, he went to find her. She was surprised, to say the least when one day she opened the door to find him. She almost had a mind to close the door on his face, but the other part pushed her to hear him out. She just wanted to understand why, after all. So she had moved away and welcomed him in. And thank god she did, otherwise, they wouldn’t be standing here, in each others’ arms, reminiscing about the good old days. They had gone far since that day. Their relationship had grown and blossomed beautifully in something neither of them thought they would ever have.  _

Once, Donna had told him that one had to know when to surrender when one was facing their Waterloo. After a really long conversation, they had both come to the same conclusion: they were both facing their Waterloo, and surrendering to their feelings, allowing their heart to feel them and allowing themselves to live them freely, wasn’t so bad after all. “No,” Bane thought burying his face in Donna’s neck, “it wasn’t so bad at all”.


End file.
